Bukayo Saka injury update: Arsenal winger to be assessed after limping out of Champions League defeat

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka will need to be assessed after he limped out of the Gunners’ Champions League defeat to Lens, with the 22-year-old now a doubt to face Manchester City on Sunday.

The winger was forced off in the first half of Tuesday’s loss, heading straight down the tunnel, limping as he did so. He had been a doubt going into the match after also being forced off against Bournemouth and now has just five days to recover.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the defeat, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: ‘It was an action, a backheel, and he felt something in this specific action. It was nothing else. Obviously he wasn’t comfortable to continue.’

What is the extent of Saka’s injury?

Arteta says the problem was a fresh issue unrelated to the Bournemouth knock and the injury will need to be assessed in the coming days. Asked if he knows how severe the injury is yet, Arteta replied bluntly: ‘No.’

In his post-match press conference he was also asked for specifics on the injury and replied: ‘We don’t know anything more than that. It was big enough for us to remove him.’ On whether he regretted starting the winger, he added: ‘No. There was a knock that he had the other day and he was perfectly fine. It’s an action that can produce that kind of injury. Afterwards it’s too late.’

What happened in the match?

Arsenal took the lead in Lens thanks to Gabriel Jesus’ excellent opener but were pegged back in the 25th minute by an even better finish from Adrien Thomasson before Elye Wahi swept home in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory for the Ligue 1 side.

Probed on whether the team felt the pressure of playing so many matches, Arteta hit back: ‘I didn’t see that. Especially in the first half the way we were playing. Obviously after we have to make changes, the change of Bukayo obviously and two wingers that we are missing that give us a lot of threat and it’s different with other qualities that we have in the squad. Learn from it, it was a big night for us and we didn’t manage to get a result that we wanted, but we take a lot of things from it and we learn.’

What’s next for Arsenal?

Saka’s injury is a major blow for Arsenal ahead of their clash with Manchester City on Sunday. The Gunners will be hoping that Saka is fit enough to play, as they look to get back to winning ways after their disappointing defeat to Lens.

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